


suits a man to say

by toujours_nigel



Category: The Charioteer - Mary Renault
Genre: Effeminophobia, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 21:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3910972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toujours_nigel/pseuds/toujours_nigel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>to the prompt "an unexpectedly broad-minded Straike re his less-than-manly stepson? Bonus points if it has something to do with a straight Straike's school experiences with a certain Mumps Jepson. And/or how Mumps got his name."</p>
    </blockquote>





	suits a man to say

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greerwatson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greerwatson/gifts).



> to the prompt "an unexpectedly broad-minded Straike re his less-than-manly stepson? Bonus points if it has something to do with a straight Straike's school experiences with a certain Mumps Jepson. And/or how Mumps got his name."

His mother came to fetch him home. Laurie, who had known the inevitability of this, was still caught out, standing unprepared in front of the hospital when the car drew up. Behind him Ralph and Alec were arguing some point of physiotherapy that the latter urged as essential and Ralph had been ducking for months now.

 _You’ll never regain full range of mobility if you don’t exercise the damned thing_ parried by _I’m hardly likely to be put in a position where I need it. Give it a rest, Alec_ and so on the entire way down from the ward at an over-cautious pace till Laurie could have recited it along with both of them, word-perfect. Out in the street he had opted to lean against the car and wait for them to finish up. Alec’s shift started at four, so the end was almost in sight. And then delight till it was time to put away private joys.

The Vauxhall 20-60 that came up the road was startling even before he recognised the passenger. Straike ponderously parked the car and disembarked, favouring Laurie with a nod before handing his mother out. He had not seen her since the wedding, and even to his critical eye she looked well, almost youthful with the sort of happiness he associated dimly with his father and had seen resentfully creeping onto her features just before he’d chucked the ROTC. In the first shock of it all their greetings passed off in cordiality, Laurie’s mother too absorbed in him and Straike too torn between fixing Laurie with an air of benevolence and impressing upon her that he was doing so, to notice the young men loitering in the entry.

Then Alec reached out half-blind and shook him by the shoulder, still muttering imprecations at Ralph, said, “Make him, will you? I’ll look in after my shift ends, though I shan't be able to linger.”, and made off at little less than a run.

“Idiot,” Ralph said, very fondly. “We’d best get going, Spud. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long.”

It was perversely fascinating to see his mouth tighten out of the relaxed smile. Any minute he would say _Please disembark in an orderly fashion, we have sufficient space in the life-boats for all passengers_.

Straike said, “Mister Lanyon,” in a voice of grim recognition.

At some indeterminate time between tramp steamers and East Indiamen, Ralph had shipped on passenger lines. It was that, rather than the older experience of handling querulous parents at Half-Term, which lent him implacable courtesy and straightened his spine. “Reverend Straike. Mrs. Straike. Laurie didn’t tell me you were driving down to collect him. Really, Spud, you might have saved one of us the trouble.”

His mother said, “Oh Laurie didn’t know. We thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“He’s struck speechless by good fortune,” Ralph said, and from somewhere produced a perfectly horrible smile. “I know I would have been if my mother had visited me in hospital.”

Oh Lord. “My books and things are in Lanyon’s car,” he said. “I’ll just fetch them, and then we can be on our way.” He had been too long standing awkwardly stiffened with surprise. His knee crumpled with the first step and for an eternal moment he was certain he would end toppled onto the pavement or into the gutter. Then there was Ralph’s shoulder under his arm and Ralph holding him close under guise of supporting his weight.

“Steady on,” Ralph said, and pulled away after he managed to nod. “Good man.”

“I’m alright,” he explained presently, and when his mother continued to look anxious, added, “I’ve been on my feet most of the day, between discharge and physiotherapy.”

“The sooner we get home the sooner you can settle in, darling. We’ve given you a lovely room on the ground floor, looking out over the rose garden. It’s to be quite your own space to set up as you like.”

Straike said, quite peremptorily, and from his mother’s expression Laurie knew it was a rare thing between them, “Lucy dear, not now, he’s too tired to take things in. Sure you want nothing but a scotch and silence, eh Laurence?”

“Perhaps you could stay the night in the hotel I booked Laurie into and start tomorrow,” Ralph said, and offered up another of the knowingly charming smiles. “Day I got discharged I slept about eighteen hours on an uncomfortable sofa, and with his leg Laurie can hardly sleep in a car.”

 

The drive over was excruciating, almost silent out of necessity with Laurie artfully arranged on the voluminous back-seat in deference to the charade and feeling guiltily grateful for it. Once, he began to apologise to Ralph, but was irritably waved off. The evening spread out aridly ahead of him: dinner with the Straikes and then refuge in some cold hotel room with only the next day’s journey to look forward to. He had been hoping for the night with Ralph to shore him up until they could meet again. At this rate...

“It might be months,” he said, beyond caring that it sounded petulant. When he was nine, the Vicarage had lain briefly empty, and it had been a favourite game to dare one another to go up to it after dark.

“Not so long. Once you’ve been discharged from the Army you can go where you like.” Some days more than others it was very obvious that Ralph had had very little to do with families for a long time. But then he aimed a smile—finally a real one—over his shoulder, and returning his attention to the road, said, “Especially if you continue to look so very pained. Really, Spud. Here we are.”

“You’ve got rooms here?”

“Ah ye of little faith.” He parked and got out and stood leaning against Laurie’s window. “I know some people visiting, I’ll just hand them the key to my place and the staff can clean out the rooms while you have dinner.”

“And they’ll agree to it?”

“Oh, sure. Aggie Deacon has a horror of hotels. Come out now, your mother’s hoving into sight.”

Out on the street, hand-fast for a moment, Ralph said, “I’ll try and put things to rights, but if he asks, just disclaim me if you can, Spud.”

 

In the hotel, with Ralph gone to see about the rooms, and his mother to the powder-room to set herself to rights, Straike leaned across the table and fixed him with what could just be mistaken for a paternal eye. “Laurence, I think I should tell you that I ran into old Mumps Jepson the other week.”

 _God, what’d I expect_ , Laurie thought wearily. _I never get away with anything_. It would be a long slog now, laced with tears and recriminations, and everyone behaving like they’d been bombed. Probably worse. At least Ralph was well out of it. “Did you?”

“Oh, yes.” Straike leaned away again, and, absurdly, smiled. “I’m proud of you, my boy. At that age it’s difficult to look beyond sordid rumours and make one’s own judgement. But that you chose to befriend Lanyon when you met again by chance speaks well of you.”

What _had_ Jeepers said? What could he possibly... but that was an expectant look, awaiting answer. “I could hardly do otherwise,” Laurie managed, lost and taking swift refuge in inanity.

“Absolutely. I grilled Mumps to pieces over it. The idea of sacking a man as promising as Lanyon clearly was, on the unsupported word of a priggish little nancy-boy, but then Mumps always was the type to... urhm. Well, the less said about that the better, ha ha.”

Laurie saw, clear as day, what Jeepers’ school-life had been like. “Lanyon doesn’t much like it talked about.” That at least was true, and he flattered himself he’d managed the right sort of reticence.

“Yes, of course. Especially not around... Lucy, not that table, dear.”

 

They were sitting over congealing cups of coffee when his mother interrupted herself to say, “Look at that lovely child. And is that Lanyon?” She looked to be about four, chubby and dark, and fit into Ralph's arms perfectly

“Hullo,” Ralph said, moving unimpeded to their table despite his wriggling burden, “We’re just leaving, but Aggie wanted to thank the people who’ve rescued her from the hotel.”

Aggie obediently said, “I don’t like it,” and, after a nudge, added, “Thank you.”

“And I wanted to give you the keys. They’re adjoining rooms, first floor I’m afraid. Spud if you need anything, you can reach me at Alec’s. Don’t ring my place and wake Angus, man used to say he’d rather drown than be disturbed of a morning.”

“Oh, we’ve put you to a great deal of trouble, haven’t we? At least stay and have dinner with us.”

“It wasn’t any trouble,” Ralph said gallantly. “And I ought to get my bundle to her parents before they think a kidnapping’s afoot. Good-bye, Mrs. Straike. Reverend. Spud.”


End file.
